Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said that his Government hopes that citizens will see the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine and participate in the vaccination programme whenever it becomes available.
The Prime Minister who recently attended a Caribbean Community(CARICOM) meeting on Tuesday said that among matters discussed was the COVID-19 vaccination.
According to him, vaccination may well become mandatory for Caribbean citizens to travel by plane or to enter other nations. Therefore, Caribbean citizens should have access to the vaccine to facilitate movement to other places if it becomes mandatory.
The Prime Minister said that Heads of Government also recognized the need to educate persons on the importance of the vaccine as there is a lot of discussion about the vaccine, its distribution and targeted populations. He noted that the Caribbean Public Health Agency(CARPHA) has accepted the responsibility to develop public education programs to educate the region on the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Prime Minister made these statements while speaking to Dionne Durand, Communication Specialist in the Ministry of Education.
Presently, CARICOM is working with the Pan American Health Organization(PAHO) to source vaccines for the region. There is a deadline of March 31, to have vaccines available in the Caribbean region.
